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WHILE THE HEART BEATS YOUNG 






.■^ 



i 



WbiletheHeart BeatsYoang 

By 

JamesAVfiitcomb Biley 

Wtth Pictures Bjr 
Etiiel FranMin Betts 









Iiidi€uaapoIi§ 

The Bobbs-MerrillCompsoiy 
Publishers 



J 



€#-*> 



OCT 8 1906 






Copyright 

1887, 1888, 1890, 1892, 1896, 1898, 1902, 1903, 1904 and 190G 

by 

James Whitcomb Riley 

All Rights Reserved 








To 

The Children of The Old Times and of These- 
With changeless love 



f 



/ f i> t^ ^ i 



WHILE THE HEART BEATS YOUNG 



JTT'HILE the heart beats young ! — O the 

^ ^ sf>tendor of the Springs 

With atl her detuy jewels on^ is not so fair a 

tiling I 
The fairest^ rarest morning of the blossom-tinie 

of May 
Is not so sweet a season as the season of to-day 
While Youth"^ s diviner climate folds aitd holds zts^ 

close caressed^ 
As we feel our mothers tvith us by the touch of 

face and breast '^ — 
Our bare feet i?t the meadovjs^ and our fancies 

up among 
The airy clouds of morning — while the heart 

beats young. 

While the heart beats young and our pidses leap 

and dance. 
With every day a holiday and life a glad 

romance^ — 
We hear the birds with wonder^ and with wonder 

watch their flight — 
Standings still the more enchanted^ both of 

hearing a?id of sight ^ 



Whe7i they have vanished ivhoIIy^—Jv7', infa?icy^ 

iving-to-%vi7ig 
We fly to Heaven with them y a7id^ retur7iing^ 

still we sing 
The -praises of this lovjer Heaven with tireless 

voice and tongue^ 
Eve7i as the Master sanctioiis — while the heart 

heats yomtg. 

While the heart heats yonns" I — While the heart 

heats young I 
O greejt and gold old Eart of hours, with azure 

overhung 
And looped with rainhotvs I — grant us yet this 

grassy lap of thine — 
^ \ ^e wo idd h e still thy ch ildren , th ro ugh th e sh ower 

and the shine ! 
So pray we, lisping, whispering, iji childish love 

and trust. 
With our beseeching hands and faces lifted from 

the dust 
By fervor of t lie poem, all uiiwritteii ajid unsung. 
Thou givest its in answer, while the heart heats 

young. 



'^ 



CONTENTS 



Almost Beyond Endurance 


. . 38 


At Aunty's House 


. 94 


Bear Story, The ..... 


. 103 


Boys' Candidate, The .... 


. 66 


Christine's Song . . . 


. 24 


Funniest Thing in the World, The 


. . 3^ 


Granny . . . . . . " . 


. . 50 


Her Lonesomeness . . 


. 42 


Impetuous Resolve, An .... 


. 49 


Land ofUsed-to-Be,The .... 


. 62 


Land of Thus-and-So, The 


. . 89 


Lisper, The . . 


. 26 


Little Johnts's Chris'mus .... 


. 106 


Little Mandy's Christmas-Tree 


83 



CONTENTS— CONTINUED 





PAGE 


Little Orphant Annie .... 


. . 68 


Lullaby 


. . 56 


Man in the Moon, The .... 


• . 31 


Max and Jim ...... 


. • 30 


Naughty Claude ..... 


. 82 


Our Betsy .,.<,.. 


• 54 


Our Hired Girl 


■ 73 


Pixy People^ The ..... 


. 44 


Raggedy Man, The ..... 


• 17 


Runaway Boy, The ..... 


• 59 


Some Scattering Remarks of Bub*s 


• 37 


Sudden Shower, A .... . 


20 


What Little Saul Got for Christmas . 


. . 78 



FULL-PAGE PICTURES 



The Raggedy Man 

He clumbed clean up in our big tree y 

An' shocked a' apple down fer me See page i8 Frontispiece 

The Raggedy Man 

An' The Raggedy Man, he knows most rhymes 

An' tells 'em, ef I be good, sometimes . . . ^9 ^ 

A Sudden Shower 

And schoolgirl faces, pale and sweet. 

Gleam from the shawls about their heads . . 23 y^ 

The Lisper 

My! &\iQ^s, purtyy though ! — An' when 

She lisps, w'y, she's purty z?^;// , . . 29 . 

The Man in the Moon 

Comes back with porridge-crumbs all round his mouth. 

And he brushes them off with a Japanese fan . . 35 

Almost Beyond Endurance 

I ain't a-goin' to cry no more no more ! . . 41 .. 

The Pixy People 

And round and round the ring of them 

Went dancing o'er the green o . . . 47 -^ 



Granny 



All's a-eatin' gingerbread 

And giggle-un at Granny ! , . «, 53 



PICTURES— CONTINUED 



Lullaby 

And the lid of night is falling o'er the sky — 
Baby-bye ! . . . 



59 ' 



The Land of Used-to-Be 

We will gather buds and locust-blossoms, leaves and honeysuckle 
To wreathe around our foreheads, riding into Used-to-Be 



65 



Little Orphant Annie 

A-list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about 



7^ 



Our Hired Girl 

Our hired girl, she's 'Lizabuth Ann ; 
An' she can cook best things to eat ! 



11 



What Little Saul Got for Christmas 

And Saul jes laid and smiled 



Little Mandy's Christmas Tree 

And my Ma she telled her we 
Goin' to have a Chris'mus-Tree 



87 



Little Johnts's Chris'mus 

Of course I can't describe it when they all got in to where 
We'd conjered up the Chris'mus-Tree an' all the fixin's there ! 



91 



The Bear Story 

An' purty soon he heerd somepin' go "Wooh!^^ — 
1st thataway — ** Woo-oohr' An' he wuz sheered 



105 




WHILE THE HEART BEATS YOUNG 





THE RAGGEDY MAN 



OTHE RAGGEDY MAN! He works fer Pa 
An' he's the goodest man ever you saw! 
He comes to our house every day, 
An' waters the horses, an' feeds 'em hay; 
An' he opens the shed — an' we all ist laugh 
When he drives out our little old wobble-ly calf; 
An' nen — ef our hired girl says he can — 
He milks the cow fer 'Lizabuth Ann. — 
Ain't he a' awful good Raggedy Man? 
Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man! 

17 



W'y, The Raggedy Man — he's ist so good 
He splits the kindlin' an' chops the wood; 
An' nen he spades in our garden, too, 
An^ does most things 'at boys can't do! — 
He clumbed clean up in our big tree 
An' shooked a' apple down fer me — 
An' nother'n', too, fer 'Lizabuth Ann — 
An' nother'n', too, fer The Raggedy Man. — 
Ain't he a' awful kind Raggedy Man? 
Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man! 

An' The Raggedy Man, he knows most rhymes 
An' tells 'em, ef I be good, sometimes: 
Knows 'bout Giunts, an' Griffuns, an' Elves, 
An' the Squidgicum-Squees 'at swallers therselves! 
An', wite by the pump in our pasture-lot. 
He showed me the hole 'at the Wunks is got, 
'At lives 'way deep in the ground, an' can 
Turn into me, er 'Lizabuth Ann, 
Er Ma er Pa er The Raggedy Man! 
Ain't he a funny old Raggedy Man? 
Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man! 



i8 



1 



The Raggedy Man — one time when he 
Wuz makin' a little bow-'n'-orry fer me, 
Says ^'When you re big like your Pa is, 
Air you go' to keep a fine store like his — 
An' be a rich merchunt — an' wear fine clothes ?- 
Er what air you go' to be, goodness knows!" 
An' nen he laughed at 'Lizabuth Ann, 
An' I says " 'I\I go' to be a Raggedy Man! — 
I'm ist go' to be a nice Raggedy Man!" 
Raggedy! Raggedy! Raggedy Man! 




21 




B 



A SUDDEN SHOWER 

•I' 
AREFOOTED boys scud up the street, i 

Or skurry under sheltering sheds; 

And schoolgirl faces, pale and sweet, 

Gleam from the shawls about their heads. 



Doors bang; and mother-voices call 
From alien homes; and rusty gates 

Are slammed; and high above it all, 
The thunder grim reverberates. 

And then, abrupt, — the rain! the rain! — - 
The earth lies gasping; and the eyes 

Behind the streaming window-pane 
Smile at the trouble of the skies. 

22 



The highway smokes; sharp echoes ring; 

The cattle bawl and cowbells clank; 
And into town comes galloping 

The farmer's horse, with streaming flank. 

The swallow dips beneath the eaves, 

And flirts his plumes and folds his wings; 

And under the catawba leaves 
The caterpillar curls and clings. 

The bumble-bee is pelted down 

The wet stem of the hollyhock; 
And sullenly, in spattered brown. 

The cricket leaps the garden walk. 

Within, the baby claps his hands 

And crows with rapture strange and vague; 
Without, beneath the rosebush stands 

A dripping rooster on one leg. 






^m<^ L 




VT'^ 



CHRISTINE'S SONG 



UP in Tentoleena Land — 
Tentoleena! Tentoleena! 
All the Dollies, hand in hand, 

Mina, Nainie, and Serena, 
Dance the Fairy fancy dances, 
With glad songs and starry glances, 
Lisping roundelays; and, after. 
Bird-like interludes of laughter 
Strewn and scattered o'er the lawn 
Their gilt sandals twinkle on 
Through light mists of silver sand — 
Up in Tentoleena Land. 
26 



up in Tentoleena Land — 

Tentoleena! Tentoleena! 
Blares the eerie Elfin band — 

Trumpet, harp and concertina- 
Larkspur bugle — honeysuckle 
Cornet, with a quickstep chuckle 
In its golden throat; and, maybe, 
Lilies-of-the-valley they be 
Baby-silver-bells that chime 
Musically all the time, 
Tossed about from hand to hand — 
Up in Tentoleena Land. 

Up in Tentoleena Land — 

Tentoleena! Tentoleena! 
Dollies dark, and blonde and bland — 

Sweet as musk-rose or verbena- 
Sweet as moon-blown daffodillies. 

Or wave-jostled water-lilies. 
Yearning to'rd the rose-mouths, ready 
Leaning o'er the river's eddy, — 
Dance, and glancing fling to you. 
Through these lines you listen to. 
Kisses blown from lip and hand 

Out of Tentoleena Land! 



27 



THE LISPER 

ELSIE MINGUS lisps, she does! 
She lives wite acrosst from us 
In Miz. Ayers'uz house 'at she 
Rents part to the Mingusuz. — 
Yes, an' Elsie plays wiv me. 

Elsie lisps so, she can't say 
Her own name, ist anyway! — 

She says ''Elthy'' — like they wuz 
Feathers on her words, an' they 

Ist stick on her tongue like fuzz. 

My! she's purty, though! — An' when 
She lisps, w'y, she's purty nen! 

When she telled me, wunst, her doll 
Wuz so "thweet," an' I p'ten' 

/ lisp, too, — she laugh' — 'at 's all! — 
28 



She don't never git mad none — 
'Cause she know I'm ist in fun. — 

Elsie she ain't one bit sp'iled. — 
Of all childerns — ever' one — 

She's the ladylikest child! — 

My Ma say she is! One time 
Elsie start to say the rhyme, 

^'Thing a thong o' thixpenth" — Wheel 
I ist yell! An' Ma say I'm 

Unpolite as I can be! 

Wunst I went wiv Ma to call 
On Elsie's Ma, an' eat an' all; 

An' nen Elsie, when we've et, 
An' we 're playin' in the hall, 

Elsie say: It's etikett 

Per young gentlemens, like me, 
Eatin' when they's company, 

Not to never ever crowd 
Down their food, ner ^'thip their tea 

Ner thup thoop so awful loud!" 



31 



M 



MAX AND JIM 

AX an' Jim, 

They're each other's 
Fat an' slim 

Little brothers. 



Max is thin, 

An' Jim, the fac's is, 
Fat ag'in 

As little Max is! 

Their Pa 'lowed 

He don't know whuther 
He's most proud 

Of one er th'other! 

Their Ma says 

They're both so sweet — 'm!- 
That she guess 

She'll haf to eat 'em! 



32 




THE MAN IN THE MOON 



SAID The Raggedy Man, on a hot afternoon: 
My! 
Sakes! 

What a lot o' mistakes 
Some little folks makes on The Man in the Moon! 
But people that's be'n up to see him, like me, 
And calls on him frequent and intimuttly. 
Might drop a few facts that would interest you 
Clean! 

Through ! — 

If you wanted 'em to — 
Some actual facts that might interest you! 

32 . 



The Man in the Moon has a crick in his back; 

Whee! 

Whimm ! 

Ain't you sorry for him? 
And a mole on his nose that is purple and black; 
And his eyes are so weak that they water and run 
If he dares to dream even he looks at the sun, — 
So he jes dreams of stars, as the doctors advise — 
My! 

Eyes ! 

But isn't he wise — 
To jes dream of stars, as the doctors advise? 

And The Man in the Moon has a boil on his ear- 
Whee! 

Whing! 

What a singular thing! 

1 know! but these facts are authentic, my dear, — 
There's a boil on his ear; and a corn on his chin- 
He calls it a dimple — but dimples stick in — 

Yet it might be a dimple turned over, you know! 
Whang! 
Ho! 

Why, certainly so! — 
It might be a dimple turned over, you know! 



34 



And The Man in the Moon has a rheumatic knee — 
Gee! 

Whizz! 

What a pity that is! 
And his toes have worked round where his heels 

ought to be. — 
So whenever he wants to go North he goes South, 
And comes back with porridge-crumbs all round his 

mouth, 
And he brushes them off with a Japanese fan, 
Whing! 

Whann ! 

What a marvellous man! 
What a very remarkably marvellous man! 

'N' The Man in the Moon, sighed The Raggedy Man, 
Gits! 
So! 

SuUonesome, you know, — 
Up there by hisse'f sence creation began! — 
That when I call on him and then come away, 
He grabs me and holds me and begs me to stay, — 
Till — Well! if it wasn't fer Jitnmy-cum-jim, 
Dadd! 

Limb! 

I'd go pardners with him — 
Jes jump my job here and be pardners with himf 



37 




THE FUNNIEST THING IN THE WORLD 

THE funniest thing in the world, I know, 
Is watchin' the monkeys 'at's in the show! — 
Jumpin' an' runnin' an' racin' roun', 
'Way up the top o' the pole; nen down! 
First they're here, an' nen they're there, 
An' ist a'most any an' ever'where! — 
Screechin' an' scratchin' wherever they go, 
They're the funniest thing in the world, I know! 

They're the funniest thing in the world, I think: — - 

Funny to watch 'em eat an' drink; 

Funny to watch 'em a-watchin' us. 

An' actin' 'most like grown folks does! — 

Funny to watch 'em p'tend to be 

Skeerd at their tail 'at they happen to see; — 

But the funniest thing in the world they do 

Is never to laugh, like me an' you! 

38 



SOME SCATTERING REMARKS OF BUB^S 



w 



UNST I tooked our pepper-box lid 
An' cut little pie-dough biscuits, I did, 
An' cooked 'em on our stove one day 
When our hired girl she said I may. 



Honey^s the goodest thing — Oo-ooh! 
An' blackburry-pies is goodest, too! 
But wite hot biscuits, ist soakin' wet 
Wiv tree-muUasus, is goodest yet! 

Miss Maimie she's my Ma's friend, — an' 
She's purtiest girl in all the Ian'! — 
An' sweetest smile an' voice an' face — 
An' eyes ist looks like p'serves tas'e! 

I ruther go to the Circus-show; 
But, 'cause my parunts told me so, 
I ruther go to the Sund'y School, 
'Cause there I learn the goldun rule. 

Say, Pa, — what is the goldun rule 
'At's alius at the Sund'y School? 

39 



ALMOST BEYOND ENDURANCE 

I AIN'T a-goin' to cry no more no more! 
I'm got ear-ache, an' Ma can't make 
It quit a-tall; 

An' Carlo bite my rubber-ball 
An' puncture it; an' Sis she take 
An' poke' my knife down through the stable-floor 

An' loozed it — blame it all! 
But I ain't goin' to cry no more no more! 

An' Aunt Mame wrote she's comin', an' she cant- 

Folks is come there! — An' I don't care 
She is my Aunt! 

An' my eyes stings; an' I'm 

1st coughin' all the time, 
An' hurts me so, an' where my side's so sore 

Grampa felt where, an' he 

Says "Mayby it's pleurasyF' 
But I ain't goin' to cry no more no m^ore! 

40 



An' I clumbed up an' nen failed off the fence, 
An' Herbert he ist laugh at me! 
An' my fi'-cents 

It sticked in my tin bank, an' I ist tore 
Purt'-nigh my thumbnail off, a-tryin' to git 
It out — nen smash it! — An' it's in there yit! 

But I ain't goin' to cry no more no more! 



Oo! I'm so wickud! — An' my breath's so hot — 

Ist like I run an' don't res' none 
But ist run on when I ought to not; 
Yes, an' my chin 
An' lips 's all warpy, an' teeth's so fast, 
An' 's a place in my throat I can't swaller past- 
An' they all hurt so! — 
An' oh, my-oh! 
I'm a-startin' ag'in — 
I'm 2i-startin^ ^g'i^^j but I wont, fer shore! — 
I ist aint goin' to cry no more no more! 





HER LONESOMENESS 

WHEN little Elizabeth whispers 
Her morning-love to me, 
Each word of the little lisper's, 
As she clambers on my knee — 
Hugs me and whispers, ''Mommy, 
Oh, I'm so glad it's day 
And the night's all gone away!" 
How it does thrill and awe me, — 
"The night's all gone away!" 

^'Sometimes I wake, all listenin'," 

She sighs, ''and all's so still! — 
The moon and the stars half-glistenin' 

Over the window-sill ; — 
And I look where the gas's pale light 

Is all turned down in the hall — 

And you ain't here at all! — 
And oh, how I wish it was daylight! 

— And you ain't here at all! 

44 



''And oh," she goes eerily whining 
And laughing, too, as she speaks, 

''If only the sun kept shining 

For weeks and weeks and weeks! — 

For the world's so dark, without you, 
And the moon's turned down so low 
'Way in the night, you know, — 

And I get so lonesome about you! — 
'Way in the night, you know!" 




45 



THE PIXY PEOPLE 

IT was just a very 
Merry fairy dream! — 
All the woods were airy 
With the gloom and gleam; 
Crickets in the clover 

Clattered clear and strong, 
And the bees droned over 
Their old honey-song. 

In the mossy passes, 

Saucy grasshoppers 
Leapt about the grasses 

And the thistle-burs; 
And the whispered chuckle 

Of the katydid 
Shook the honeysuckle 

Blossoms where he hid. 

46 



Through the breezy mazes 

Of the lazy June, 
Drowsy with the hazes 

Of the dreamy noon, 
Little Pixy people 

Winged above the walk. 
Pouring from the steeple 

Of a mullein-stalk. 

One — a gallant fellow — 

Evidently King, — 
Wore a plume of yellow 

In a jewelled ring 
On a pansy bonnet. 

Gold and white and blue, 
With the dew still on it. 

And the fragrance, too. 

One — a dainty lady — 

Evidently Queen, — 
Wore a gown of shady 

Moonshine and green, 
With a lace of gleaming 

Starlight that sent 
All the dewdrops dreaming 

Everywhere she went. 



49 



One wore a waistcoat 

Of roseleaves, out and in, 
And one wore a faced-coat 

Of tiger-lily-skin; 
And one wore a neat coat 

Of palest galingale; 
And one a tiny street-coat, 

And one a swallow-tail. 

And Ho! sang the King of them 

And Hey! sang the Queen; 
And round and round the ring of them 

Went dancing o'er the green; 
And Hey! sang the Queen of them. 

And Ho! sang the King — 
And all that I had seen of them 

— Wasn't anything! 

It was just a very 

Merry fairy dream! — 
All the woods were airy 

With the gloom and gleam; 
Crickets in the clover 

Clattered clear and strong, 
And the bees droned over 

Their old honey-song! 



50 



AN IMPETUOUS RESOLVE 

WHEN little Dickie Swope's a man, 
He's go' to be a Sailor; 
An' little Harney Tincher, he's 
A-go' to be a Tailor: 
Bud Mitchell, he's a-go' to be 

A stylish Carriage-Maker; 
An' when I grow a grea'-big man, 
I'm go' to be a Baker! 

An' Dick'U buy his sailor-suit 

O' Hame; an' Hame'U take it 
An' buy as fine a double-rig 

As ever Bud kin make it: 
An' nen all three'll drive roun' fer me, 

An' we'll drive off togevver, 
A-slingin' pie-crust 'long the road 

Ferever an' ferever! 



51 



GRANNY 

GRANNY'S come to our house, 
And ho! my lawzy-daisy! 
All the childern round the place 
Is ist a-runnin' crazy! 
Fetched a cake fer little Jake, 

And fetched a pie fer Nanny, 
And fetched a pear fer all the pack 
That runs to kiss their Granny! 

Lucy Ellen's in her lap, 

And Wade and Silas-Walker 
Both's a-ridin' on her foot. 

And Polios on the rocker; 
And Marthy's twins, from Aunt Marinn's, 

And little Orphant Annie, 
All's a-eatin' gingerbread 

And giggle-un at Granny! 

52 



Tells us all the fairy tales 

Ever thought er wundered — 
And 'bundance o' other stories — 

Bet she knows a hunderd! — 
Bob's the one fer 'Whittington," 

And ''Golden Locks" fer Fanny! 
Hear 'em laugh and clap their hands, 

Listenun' at Granny! 

''Jack the Giant- Killer" 's good; 

And "Bean-Stalk" 's another!— 
So's the one of "Cinderell' " 

And her old godmother; — 
That-un's best of all the rest — 

Bestest one of any, — 
Where the mices scampers home, 

Like we runs to Granny! 

Granny's come to our house, 

HoJ my lawzy-daisy! 
All the childern round the place 

Is ist a-runnin' crazy! 
Fetched a cake fer little Jake, 

And fetched a pie fer Nanny, 
And fetched a pear fer all the pack 

That runs to kiss their Granny! 



55 



OUR BETSY 

US childern 's all so lonesome 
We hardly want to play 
Or skip or swing or anything, 
'Cause Betsy she's away! 
She's gone to see her people 

At her old home. — But then — 
Oh! ev'ry child '11 jist be wild 
When she's back here again! 

Then ifs whoopty-doopty dooden! — 

Whoopty-dooden then! 
Oh! ifs whoopty-doopty dooden. 

When Betsy's back again! 

She's like a mother to us, 

And like a sister, too — 
Oh! she's as sweet as things to eat 

When all the dinner 's through! 
And hey! to hear her laughin'! 

And ho! to hear her sing! — 
To have her back is all we lack 
Of havin' everything! 

56 



Then ifs whoopty-doopty do o den! — 

Whoopty-dooden then! 
Oh! it's whoopty-doopty dooden, 

When Betsy's hack again! 

Gh! some may sail the northern lakes, 

And some to foreign lands, 
And some may seek old Nameless Creek, 

Or India's golden sands; 
Or some may go to Kokomo, 

And some to Mackinac, — 
But I'll go down to Morgantown 

To fetch our Betsy back. 



Then it's whoopty-doopty dooden!- 

Whoopty-dooden then! 
Oh! it's whoopty-doopty dooden, 

When Betsy's back again! 




LULLABY 

THE maple strews the embers of its leaves 
O'er the laggard swallows nestled 'neath the 
eaves 
And the moody cricket falters in his cry — 

Baby-bye! — 
And the lid of night is falling o'er the sky — 

Baby-bye! — 
The lid of night is falling o'er the sky! 

The rose is lying pallid, and the cup 

Of the frosted calla-lily folded up; 

And the breezes through the garden sob and sigh — 

Baby-bye! — 
O'er the sleeping blooms of summer where they lie- 

Baby-bye! — 
O'er the sleeping blooms of summer where they lie! 

Yet, Baby — O my Baby, for your sake 

This heart of mine is ever wide awake. 

And my love may never droop a drowsy eye — 

Baby-bye! — 

Till your own are wet above me when I die — 

Baby-bye! — 

Till your own are wet above me when I die. 

58 



r 





THE RUNAWAY BOY 



W 



UNST I sassed my Pa, an' he 
Won't stand that, an' punished me,- 
Nen when he was gone that day, 
I slipped out an' runned away. 



I tooked all my copper-cents, 
An' clumbed over our back fence 
In the jimpson-weeds 'at growed 
Ever'where all down the road. 

6i 



Nen I got out there, an' nen 

I runned some — an' runned again 

When I met a man 'at led 

A big cow 'at shooked her head. 

I went down a long, long lane 
Where was little pigs a-play'n'; 
An' a grea'-big pig went "Booh!" 
An' jumped up, an' skeered me too. 

Nen I scampered past, an' they 
Was somebody hollered ''Hey!" 
An' I ist looked ever'where. 
An' they was nobody there. 

I want to, but I'm 'fraid to try 
To go back. . . .An' by-an'-by, 
Somepin' hurts my throat inside — 
An' I want my Ma — an' cried. 

Nen' a grea'-big girl come through 
Where's a gate, an' telled me who 
Am I? an' ef I tell where 
My home's at she'll show me there. 

But I couldn't ist but tell 
What's my name; an' she says well, 
An' she tooked me up an' says 
She know where I live, she guess. 
62 



Nen she telled me hug wite close 
Round her neck! — an' off she goes 
Skippin' up the street! An' nen 
Purty soon Fm home again. 



An' my Ma, when she kissed me, 
Kissed the big girl too, an' she 
Kissed me — ef I p'omlse shore 
T won't run away no more! 




-^ 



.d&^fci 



THE LAND OF USED-TO-BE 

y4ND Where's the Land of Used-to-be, does little 
Zjk baby wonder? 

-^ -^Oh, we will clap a magic saddle over 'Top- 

um's" knee 
And ride away around the world, and in and out 
and under 
The whole of all the golden sunny Summertime 
and see. 

Leisurely and lazy-like we'll jostle on our journey, 
And let the pony bathe his hooves and cool them 
in the dew. 
As he sidles down the shady way and lags along the 
ferny 
And green grassy edges of the lane we travel 
through. 

64 



And then we'll canter on to catch the bubble of the 
thistle 
As it bumps among the butterflies and glimmers 
down the sun, 
To leave us laughing, all content to hear the robin 
whistle 
Or guess what Katydid is saying little Katy's done. 

And pausing here a minute, where we hear the 
squirrel chuckle 
As he darts from out the underbrush and scampers 
up the tree, 
We will gather buds and locust-blossoms, leaves and 
honeysuckle, 
To wreathe around our foreheads, riding into 
Used-to-be; — 

For here's the very rim of it that we go swinging 
over — 
Don't you hear the Fairy bugles, and the tinkle of 
the bells, 
And see the baby-bumblebees that tumble in the 
clover 
And dangle from the tilted pinks and tipsy pim- 
pernels? 



67 



And don't you see the merry faces of the daffodillies, 
And the jolly Johnny-jump-ups, and the buttercups 
a-glee, 
And the low, lolling ripples ring around the water- 
lilies? — 
All greeting us with laughter, to the Land of 
Used-to-be! 

And here among the blossoms of the blooming vines 
and grasses. 
With a haze forever hanging in a sky forever 
blue, 
And with a breeze from over-seas to kiss us as it 
passes. 
We will romp around forever as the airy Elfins do! 

For all the elves of earth and air are swarming here 
together — 
The prankish Puck, King Oberon, and Queen 
Titania too; 
And dear old Mother Goose herself, as sunny as the 
weather. 
Comes dancing down the dewy walks to welcome 
me and you! 



68 




THE BOYS' CANDIDATE 



LAS' time 'at Uncle Sidney come, 
He bringed a watermelon home— 
An' half the boys in town 
Come taggin' after him. — An' he 
Says, when we et it, — ''Gracious me! 
'S the boy-house fell down?'' 

69 



LITTLE ORPHANT ANNIE 

LITTLE Orphant Annie's come to our house to 
stay, 
An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' bresh 
the crumbs away, 
An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the 

hearth, an' sweep, 
An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her 

board-an'-keep; 
An' all us other childern, when the supper-things is 

done. 
We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun 
A-list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about, 
An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you 
Ef you 
Don't 

Watch 
Out! 
70 



Onc't they was a little boy wouldn't say his prayers, — 
So when he went to bed at night, away up stairs. 
His Mammy heerd him holler, an' his Daddy heerd 

him bawl, 
An' when they turn't the kivvers down, he wasn't 

there at all! 
An' they seeked him in the rafter-room, an' cubby- 
hole, an' press. 
An' seeked him up the chimbly-flue, an' ever'wheres, 

I guess; 
But all they ever found was thist his pants an' round- 
about : — 
An' the Gobble-uns'U git you 
Ef you 
Don't 

Watch 
Out! 

An' one time a little girl 'ud alius laugh an' grin, 
An' make fun of ever'one, an' all her blood an' kin; 
An' onc't, when they was '^company," an' ole folks 

was there. 
She mocked 'em an' shocked 'em, an' said she didn't 

care! 
An' thist as she kicked her heels, an' turn't to run an' 

hide, 
They was two great big Black Things a-standin' by 

her side, 

73 



An' they snatched her through the ceilin' 'fore she 

knowed what she's about! 
An' the Gobble-uns'U git you 
Ef you 
Don't 

Watch 
Out! 

An' little Orphant Annie says when the blaze is blue, 
An' the lamp-wick sputters, an' the wind goes woo-oo! 
An' you hear the crickets quit, an' the moon is gray, 
An' the lightnin'-bugs in dew is all squenched away, — 
You better mind yer parunts an' yer teachers fond 

an' dear. 
An' churish them 'at loves you, an' dry the orphant's 

tear. 
An' he'p the pore an' needy ones 'at clusters all about, 
Er the Gobble-uns'll git you 
Ef you 
Don't 

Watch 
Out! 



74 




OUR HIRED GIRL 



OUR hired girl, she's 'Lizabuth Ann; 
I An' she can cook best things to eat! 
She ist puts dough in our pie-pan, 
An' pours in somepin' 'at's good and sweet, 
An' nen she salts it all on top 
With cinnamon; an' nen she'll stop 
An' stoop an' slide it, ist as slow. 
In th' old cook-stove, so's 'twon't slop 
An' git all spilled; nen bakes it, so 
It's custard pie, first thing you know! 

An' nen she'll say: 
''Clear out o' my way! 

They's time fer work, an' time fer play! — 
Take yer dough, an' run. Child; run! 
Er I cain't git no cookin' done!" 

7S 



When our hired girl 'tends like she's mad, 

An' says folks got to walk the chalk 
When she's around, er wisht they had, 

I play out on our porch an' talk 
To th' Raggedy Man 'at mows our lawn; 
An' he says ''Whew!'' an' nen leans on 

His old crook-scythe, and blinks his eyes 
An' sniffs all round an' says, — ''I swawn! 

Ef my old nose don't tell me lies, 

It 'pears like I smell custard-pies!" 
An' nen he'll say, — 

" 'Clear out o' my way! 

They's time fer work an' time fer play! 
Take yer dough, an' run. Child; run! 
Er she cain't git no cookin' done!'" 

Wunst our hired girl, when she 

Got the supper, an' we all et, 
An' it was night, an' Ma an' me 

An' Pa went wher' the "Social" met, — 
An' nen when we come home, an' see 
A light in the kitchen-door, an' we 

Heerd a maccordeun. Pa says 'Xan'- 
O'-Gracious! who can her beau be?" 



76 



An' I marched in, an' 'Lizabuth Ann 
Wuz parchin' corn fer the Raggedy Man! 

Better say 
"Clear out o' the way! 
They's time fer work, an' time fer play! 

Take the hint, an' run, Child; run! 

Er we cain't git no courtin done!" 






L 



■e 



X.. > ^^ ' 



\ 




«^ 




WHAT LITTLE SAUL GOT FOR CHRISTMAS 

US PARENTS mostly thinks our own's 
The smartest childern out! 
But widder Shelton's little Saul 
Beats all I know about! 
He's weakly-like — in p'int o' health, 

But strong in word and deed 
And heart and head, and snap and spunk, 
And alius in the lead! 

Come honest' by it, fer his Pa — 

Afore he passed away — 
He was a leader — (Lord, I'd like 

To hear him preach to-day!) 
He led his flock; he led in prayer 

Fer spread o' Peace — and when 
Nothin' but War could spread it, he 

Was first to lead us then! 

80 




.\i \ 



\' 



So little Saul has grit to take 

Things jes as they occur; 
And sister Shelton's proud o' him 

As he is proud o' her! 
And when she ''got up" — jes fer him 

And little playmates all — 
A Chris'mus-tree, — they ever'one 

Was there but little Saul. — 

Pore little chap was sick in bed 

Next room; and Doc was there, 
And said the childern might file past, 

But go right back to where 
The tree was, in the settin'-room. 

And Saul jes laid and smiled — 
Ner couldn't nod, ner wave his hand, 

It hurt so — Bless the child! 

And so they left him there with Doc — 

And warm tear of his Ma's 

Then — suddent-like — high over all 

Their laughture and applause — 
They heerd, — "I don't care what you git 

On yer old Chris'mus-tree, 
'Cause Fm got somepin' you all haint, — 

Fm got the pleurisy!" 



83 




NAUGHTY CLAUDE 



WHEN Little Claude was naughty wunst 
At dinner-time, an' said 
He won't say ''Thank you' to his Ma, 
She maked him go to bed 
An' stay two hours an' not git up, — 

So when the clock struck Two, 
Nen Claude says, — 'Thank you, Mr. Clock, 
I'm much obleeged to you!" 

84 



LITTLE MANDY'S CHRISTMAS-TREE 

LITTLE Mandy and her Ma 
'S porest folks you ever saw! — 
Lived in porest house in town, 
Where the fence 'uz all tore down. 

And no front-door steps at all — 
1st a' old box 'g'inst the wall; 
And no door-knob on the door 
Outside. — My! but they 'uz pore! 

Wuz no winder-shutters on, 
And some of the winders gone. 
And where they 'uz broke they'd pas'e 
1st brown paper 'crost the place. 

Tell you! when it's winter there, 

And the snow ist ever'where. 

Little Mandy's Ma she say 

'Spec' they'll freeze to death some day. 

Wunst my Ma and me — when we 
Be'n to church, and's goin' to be 
Chris'mus purty soon, — we went 
There — like the Committee sent. 

85 



And-sir! when we're in the door, 
Wuz no carpet on the floor, 
And no fire — and heels-and-head 
Little Mandy's tucked in bed! 

And her Ma telled my Ma she 
Got no coffee but ist tea, 
And fried mush — and's all they had 
Sence her health broke down so bad. 

Nen Ma hug and hold me where 
Little Mandy's layin' there; 
And she kiss her, too, and nen 
Mandy kiss my Ma again. 

And my Ma she telled her we 
Goin' to have a Chris'mus-Tree, 
At the Sund'y School, 'at's fer 
All the childern, and fer her. 

Little Mandy think — nen she 
Say, 'What is a Chris'mus-Tree?" . 
Nen my Ma she gived her Ma 
Somepin' 'at I never saw. 

And say she must take it, — and 
She ist maked her keep her hand 
Wite close shut, — and nen she kiss 
Her hand — shut ist like it is. 

86 



Nen we corned away. . . . And nen 
When it's Chris'mus Eve again, 
And all of us childerns be 
At the Church and Chris'mus-Tree — 

And all git our toys and things 
'At old Santy Claus he brings 
And puts on the Tree; — wite where 
The big Tree 'uz standin' there, 

And the things 'uz all tooked down, 
And the childerns, all in town. 
Got their presents — nen we see 
They's a little Chris'mus-Tree 

Wite behind the big Tree — so 
We can't see till nen, you know, — 
And it's all ist loaded down 
With the purtiest things in town! 

And the teacher smile and say: 
^'This-here Tree 'at's hid away 
It's marked 'Little Mandys Tree!— 
Little Mandy! Where is she?" 

Nen nobody say a word. — 
Stillest place you ever heard! — ■ 
Till a man tiptoe up where 
Teacher's still a-waitin' there. 

89 



Nen the man he whispers, so 
1st the Teacher hears, you know. 
Nen he tiptoe back and go 
Out the big door — ist as slow! 



Little Mandy, though, she don't 
Answer — and Ma say ''she won't 
N ever, though each year they'll be 
'Little Mandy's Chris'mus-Tree' 

Fer pore childern" — my Ma says — 
And Committee say they guess 
"Little Mandy's Tree" 'ull be 
Bigger than the other Tree! 




90 




www 1^ ^ 



U-(>' 



THE LAND OF THUS-AND-SO 



H 



66 T TOW would Willie like to go 
To the Land of Thus-and-So? 
Everything is proper there — 

All the children comb their hair 

Smoother than the fur of cats, 

Or the nap of high silk hats; 

Every face is clean and white 

As a lily washed in light; 

Never vaguest soil or speck 

Found on forehead, throat or neck; 

Every little crimpled ear, 

In and out, as pure and clear 

As the cherry-blossom's blow 

In the Land of Thus-and-So. 



91 



^Xittle boys that never fall 
Down the stair, or cry at all — 
Doing nothing to repent, 
Watchful and obedient; 
Never hungry, nor in haste — 
Tidy shoe-strings always laced; 
Never button rudely torn 
From its fellows all unworn; 
Knickerbockers always new — 
Ribbon, tie, and collar, too; 
Little watches, worn like men, 
Always promptly half-past ten — 
Just precisely right, you know, 
For the Land of Thus-and-So! 

"And the little babies there 
Give no one the slightest care — 
Nurse has not a thing to do 
But be happy and sigh 'Boo!' 
While Mamma just nods, and knows 
Nothing but to doze and doze: 
Never litter round the grate; 
Never lunch or dinner late; 
Never any household din 
Peals without or rings within — 
Baby coos nor laughing calls 
On the stairs or through the halls — 
Just Great Hushes to and fro 
Pace the Land of Thus-and-so! 



"Oh! the Land of Thus- an d- So I— 
Isn't it delightful, though?" 
"Yes," lisped Willie, answering me 
Somewhat slow and doubtfully — 
"Must be awful nice, but I 
Ruther wait till by-and-by 
'Fore I go there — maybe when 
I be dead I'll go there then. — 
But" — the troubled little face 
Closer pressed in my embrace — 
"Le's don't never ever go 
To the Land of Thus-and-So!" 





AT AUNTY'S HOUSE 



ONE time, when we'z at Aunty's house- 
'Way in the country! — where 
They's ist but woods — an' pigs, an' cows- 
An' all's outdoors an' air! — 
An' orchurd-swing; an' churry-trees — 
An' churries in 'em! — Yes, an' these- 
Here redhead birds steals all they please. 

An' tetch 'em ef you dare! — 
W'y, wunst, one time, when we wuz there, 
We et out on the porch! 

94 



Wite where the cellar-door wuz shut 

The table wuz ; an' I 
Let Aunty set by me an' cut 

My vittuls up — an' pie. 
'Tuz awful funny! — I could see 
The redheads in the churry-tree, 
An' beehives, where you got to be 

So keerful, goin' by; — 
An' "Comp'ny" there an' all! — an' we — 
We et out on the porch! 

An' I ist et p'surves an' things 

'At Ma don't 'low me to — 
An' chicken-gizzurds — (don't like wings 

Like Parunts does! do you?) 
An' all the time the wind blowed there, 
An' I could feel it in my hair, 
An' ist smell clover ^i;^rVhere! — 

An' a' old redhead flew 
Purt'-nigh wite over my high-chair, 
When we et on the porch! 



95 



LITTLE JOHNTS'S CHRIS'MUS 

WE got it up a-purpose, jes fer little Johnts, 
you know ; 
His mother was so pore an' all, an' had 
to manage so — 
Jes bein' a War-widder, an' her pension mighty slim, 
She'd take in weavin', er work out, er anything, fer 
him! 

An' little Johnts was puny-like, but law, the nerve he 

had!— 
You'd want to kindo' pity him, but couldn't, very 

bad, — 
His pants o' army-blanket an' his coat o' faded blue 
Kep' hintin' of his father, like, an' pity wouldn't do! 

So we collogued together, onc't, one winter-time, 'at 

we — 
Jes me an' mother an' the girls, an' Wilse, John-Jack 

an' Free — 
Would jine an' git up little Johnts, by time 'at 

Chris'mus come. 
Some sort o' doin's, don't you know, 'at would 

su'prise him some. 

96 



An' so, all on the quiet, Mother she turns in an' gits 
Some blue- janes — cuts an' makes a suit; an' then sets 

down an' knits 
A pair o' little galluses to go 'long with the rest — 
An' putts in a red-flannen back, an' buckle on the 

vest. — 

The little feller'd be'n so much around our house, 

you see, 
An' be'n sich he'p to her an' all, an' handy as could be, 
'At Mother couldn't do too much fer little Johnts — 

No, Sir! 
She ust to jes declare 'at ''he was meat-an'-drink to 

her!" 

An' Piney, Lide, an' Madaline they watched their 

chance an' rid 
To Fountaintown with Lijey's folks; an' bought a 

book, they did, 
O' fairy tales, with pictur's in; an' got a little pair 
O' red-top boots 'at John-Jack said he'd be'n a-pricin' 

there. 

An' Lide got him a little sword, an' Madaline, a 

drum; 
An' shootin'-crackers — Lawzy-day! an' they're so 

dangersome! 

LOFC. 

99 



An' Piney, ever' time the rest 'ud buy some other 

toy, 
She'd take an' turn in then an' buy more candy fer 

the boy! 

"Well," thinks-says-I, when they got back, ''your 

pocketbooks is dry!" — 
But little Johnts was there hisse'f that afternoon, 

so I — 
Well, all of us kep' mighty mum, tel we got him 

away 
By tellin' him be shore an' come to-morry — Chris'- 

mus Day — 

An' fetch his mother 'long with him! An' how he 

scud acrost 
The fields — his towhead, in the dusk, jes like a 

streak o' frost! — 
His comfert fluttern as he run — an' old Tige, don't 

you know, 
A-jumpin' high fer rabbits an' a ploughin' up the 

snow! 

It must 'a' be'n 'most ten that night afore we got 

to bed — 
With Wilse an' John-Jack he'pin' us; an' Freeman 

in the shed, 



lOO 



An' Lide out with the lantern while he trimmed the 

Chris'mus-Tree 
Out of a little scrub-oak-top 'at suited to a ^'T"! 

All night I dreamp' o' hearin' things a-skulkin' 

round the place — 
An' ''Old Kriss," with his whiskers off, an' freckles 

on his face — 
An' reindeers, shaped like shavin'-hosses at the 

cooper-shop, 
A-stickin' down the chimbly, with their heels out at 

the top! 

By time 'at Mother got me up 'twas plum' daylight 

an' more — 
The front yard full o' neighbers all a-crowdin' round 

the door, 
With Johnts's mother leadin'; yes — an' little Johnts 

hisse'f. 
Set up on Freeman's shoulder, like a jug up on the 

she'f! 

Of course I can't describe it when they all got in 
to where 

We'd conjered up the Chris'mus-Tree an' all the 
fixin's there! — 

Fer all the shouts o' laughture — clappin' hands, an' 
crackin' jokes, 

Was heap o' kissin' goin' on amongst the women- 
folks :— 



Fer, lo-behold-ye! there they had that young-un! — 

An' his chin 
A-wobblin'-like ; — an', shore enough, at last he 

started in — 
An' — sich another bellerin', in all my mortal days, 
I never heerd, er 'spect to hear, in woe's app'inted 

ways ! 



An' Mother grabs him up an' says: "It's more'n he 

can bear — 
It's all too suddent fer the child, an' too su'prisin'! 

— There!'' 
"Oh, no it ain't" — sobbed little Johnts — "I ain't 

su'prised — but I'm 
A-cryin' 'cause I watched you all, an' knowed it all 

the time!" 

rr 







>^^:d> 



102 



THE BEAR STORY 

THAT ALEX ''iST MAKED UP HIS-OWN-SE'f" 

W'Y, wunst they wuz a Little Boy went out 
In the woods to shoot a Bear. So, he 
went out 
Way in the grea'-big woods — he did. — An' he 
Wuz goin' along — an' goin' along, you know, 
An' purty soon he heerd somepin' go ''WoohF' — 
1st thataway — ''Woo-ooh!" An' he wuz sheered, 
He wuz. An' so he runned an' clumbed a tree — 
A grea'-big tree, he did, — a sicka-zwor^ tree. 
An' nen he heerd it ag'in: an' he looked round, 
An' 't'uz a Bear! — a grea-big shore-nuff Bear! — 
No: 't'uz two Bears, it wuz — two grea'-big Bears — 
One of 'em wuz — ist one'z a grea-big Bear. — 
But they ist boff went ''Woohf' — An' here they come 
To climb the tree an' git the Little Boy 
An' eat him up! 

An' nen the Little Boy 
He 'uz skeered worse'n ever! An' here come 

103 



The grea'-big Bear a-climbin' th' tree to git 

The Little Boy an' eat him up — Oh, no! — 

It 'uzn't the Big Bear 'at dumb the tree — 

It 'uz the Little Bear. So here he come 

Climbin' the tree — an' climbin' the tree! Nen when 

He git wite clos't to the Little Boy, w'y nen 

The Little Boy he ist pulled up his gun 

An' shot the Bear, he did, an' killed him dead! 

An' nen the Bear he failed clean on down out 

The tree — away clean to the ground, he did — 

Spling-splung! he failed plum' down, an' killed him, 

too! 
An' lit wite side o' where the Big Bear's at. 

An' nen the Big Bear's awful mad, you bet! — 
'Cause — 'cause the Little Boy he shot his gun 
An' killed the Little Bear. — 'Cause the Big Bear 
He — he 'uz the Little Bear's Papa. — An' so here 
He come to climb the big old tree an' git 
The Little Boy an' eat him up! An' when 
The Little Boy he saw the grea-big Bear 
A-comin', he 'uz badder skeered, he wuz, 
Than any time! An' so he think he'll climb 
Up higher^-\N?iy up higher in the tree 
Than the old Bear kin climb, you know. — But he — 
He cant climb higher 'an old Bears kin climb, — 
'Cause Bears kin climb up higher in the trees 
Than any little Boys in all the Wo-r-r-ld! 

104 



An' so here come the grea'-big Bear, he did, — 
A-climbin' up — an' up the tree, to git 
The Little Boy an' eat him up! An' so 
The Little Boy he clumbed on higher, an' higher, 
An' higher up the tree — an' higher — an' higher^ — 
An' higher'n iss-here house is! — An' here come 
Th' old Bear — clos'ter to him all the time! — 
An' nen — first thing you know, — when th' old Big 

Bear 
Wuz wite clos't to him — nen the Little Boy 
1st jabbed his gun wite in the old Bear's mouf 
An' shot an' killed him dead! — No; I f ergot, — 
He didn't shoot the grea'-big Bear at all — 
'Cause they ^uz no load in the gun^ you know — 
'Cause when he shot the Little Bear, w'y, nen 
No load 'uz anymore nen in the gun! 

But th' Little Boy clumbed higher up, he did — 

He clumbed lots higher — an' on up higher — an' higher 

An' higher — tel he ist cant climb no higher, 

'Cause nen the limbs 'uz all so little, 'way 

Up in the teeny-weeny tip-top of 

The tree, they'd break down wiv him ef he don't 

Be keerful! So he stop an' think: An' nen 

He look around — An here come th' old Bear! 

An' so the Little Boy make up his mind 
He's got to ist git out o' there so7ne way! — 

107 



'Cause here come the old Bear! — so clos't, his bref's 

Purt' nigh so's he kin feel how hot it is 

Ag'inst his bare feet — ist like old ^'Ring's" bref 

When he's ben out a-huntin' an's all tired. 

So when th' old Bear's so clos't — the Little Boy 

Ist gives a grea'-big jump fer 'nother tree — 

No! — no he don't do that! — I tell you what 

The Little Boy does: — W'y, nen — w'y, he — Oh, yes- 

The Little Boy he finds a hole up there 

'Afs in the tree — an' climbs in there an' hides — 

An' nen th' old Bear can't find the Little Boy 

At all! — But, purty soon th' old Bear finds 

The Little Boy's gun 'at's up there — 'cause the gun 

It's too tall to tooked wiv him in the hole. 

So, when the old Bear fin' the gun, he knows 

The Little Boy's ist hid 'round somers there, — 

An' th' old Bear 'gins to snuff an' sniff around, 

An' sniff an' snuff around — so's he kin find 

Out where the Little Boy's hid at. — An' nen — nen — 

Oh, yes! — W'y, purty soon the old Bear climbs 

'Way out on a big limb — a grea'-long limb, — 

An' nen the Little Boy climbs out the hole 

An' takes his ax an' chops the limb off! . . . Nen 

The old Bear falls k-splunge! clean to the ground 

An' bust an' kill hisse'f plum' dead, he did! 

An' nen the Little Boy he git his gun 

An' 'menced a-climbin' down the tree ag'in — 

io8 



No! — no, he didnt git his gun — 'cause when 
The Bear failed, nen the gun failed, too — An' broked 
It all to pieces, too! — An' nicest gun! — 
His Pa ist buyed it! — An' the Little Boy 
1st cried, he did; an' went on climbin' down 
The tree — an' climbin' down — an' climbin' down! — 
An -sir! when he 'uz purt'-nigh down, — w'y, nen 
The old Bear he jumped up agin! — an' he 
Ain't dead at all — ist 'tendin thataway, 
So he kin git the Little Boy an' eat 
Him up! But the Little Boy he 'uz too smart 
To climb clean down the tree. — An' the old Bear 
He can't climb up the tree no more — 'cause when 
He fell, he broke one of his — he broke all 
His legs! — an' nen he couldnt climb! But he 
Ist won't go 'way an' let the Little Boy 
Come down out of the tree. An' the old Bear 
Ist growls 'round there, he does — ist growls an' goes 
'Wooh! — Woo-ooh!'' all the time! An' Little Boy 
He haf to stay up in the tree — all night — 
An' 'thout no supper neether! — On'y they 
Wuz apples on the tree! — An' Little Boy 
Et apples — ist all night — an' cried — an' cried! 
Nen when 't'uz morning th' old Bear went ''Wooh!^' 
Ag'in, an' try to climb up in the tree 
An' git the Little Boy. — But he cant 
Climb t'save his soul, he can't! — An' oh! he's mad! — 
He ist tear up the ground! an' go ''Woo-ooh!'' 

109 



An' — Oh, yes! — purty soon, when morning's come 

All light — so's you kin see, you know, — w'y, nen 

The old Bear finds the Little Boy's gun, you know, 

'At's on the ground. — (An' it ain't broke at all — 

I ist said that!) An' so the old Bear think 

He'll take the gun an' shoot the Little Boy: — 

But Bears they don't know much 'bout shootin' guns; 

So when he go to shoot the Little Boy, 

The old Bear got the other end the gun 

Ag'in' his shoulder, 'stid o' th'other end — 

So when he try to shoot the Little Boy, 

It shot the Bear, it did — an' killed him dead! 

An' nen the Little Boy dumb down the tree 

An' chopped his old woolly head off: — Yes, an' killed 

The other Bear ag'in, he did — an' killed 

All boif the bears, he did — an' tuk 'em home 

An' cooked 'em, too, an' et 'em! 

— An' that's all. 




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